Fruita Gelato Company aims to be distinctively delicious with its offerings

Tim Harty, The Business Times

It has been a mild January with temperatures frequently 15 to 20 degrees higher outside than inside the freezers where Bridgett Legg stores the gelato she serves at Fruita Gelato Company, 156 S. Park Square in downtown Fruita.

It’s nice enough for people to walk and bike and stop for gelato, which Legg hopes is an indication of things to come during the spring and summer.

“The hot days are what I’m excited for, everybody on their bikes around here and everyone that jogs and all that kind of fun stuff,” said Legg, who opened her store Dec. 13, coinciding with the Fruita Parade of Lights. “We just wanted to be a place to come cool off and enjoy a sweet treat.”

Those busier days will come, but until then Legg said people are figuring out her store is open and checking out the 13 different flavors of gelato, Cowpoke Creamers (gelato shakes) and various toppings that can be added.

It helps being located on Park Square.

“It’s absolutely ideal,” she said of the location. “The CBB (Colorado Backcountry Biker) bike shop is right next door with a huge following … and they’re really fun neighbors, too. It’s been great being next door to them.

“Just being a part of this loop with all the traffic that comes out of even City Market, going into town, we absolutely fell in love with it.”

Legg’s instincts were good when she thought about the visibility of her location and the traffic, be it car, bike or foot.

“We were here for about three or four months, just doing buildout and things like that, so I had a ‘Coming Soon’ sign up front for months … We met a lot of folks before we even opened, and we even had a local historian ride by on his bike and tell us a little bit about the building,” she said.

The building is old and historic, and Legg likes that. She said it was built in the 1890s, so it already has so much history, and she’d like Fruita Gelato Company to add to the legacy with the classic craft of making gelato “and then creating new memories in a historic building.”

That wouldn’t happen, though, unless Legg thought people will support it.

“We felt that there was a need,” she said. “I’ve had the neighbors say, ‘Thank you for opening,’ and the community, ‘Thank you for opening, because Fruita needed one of these.’

“Like, that’s what we said. So, instead of doing ice cream, I was like, ‘Let’s do gelato,’ because it’s a little bit more specific and a little bit richer, fuller flavor and a lot bolder. So, we worked off of that.”

Plus, she said, there’s a Dairy Queen down the road, so providing options that people don’t get anywhere else in town was a must, options that are distinct and delicious.

“We feature Italian-made gelato,” Legg said. “Getting the authenticity and the highest quality and consistency was of utmost importance to us.

“We’ve got 13 different flavors of gelato, three different sizes, or we can do cones. I’ve got all kinds of fun candies and some sodas. I wanted to highlight things that make it a little bit more specialty here.”

Another way she is trying to distinguish her store is by what she stocks on the shelves.

“You could buy a Coke and a Sprite and all that kind of stuff at every store in town,” she said. “I’ve got a Farah Fawcett cream soda, and a Cobra Kai lemonade and butter-flavored soda, just funny stuff that just makes it a little bit more special and unique.”

The Cowpoke Creamers have themes and different toppings.

Wherever the toppings get used, Legg said she’s “just trying to keep it unique, that it’s special just to the shop.”

For example, there’s green army men in gummy form for topping a Cowpoke Creamer named Soldier (pistachio gelato, honey and milk with whipped cream).

“We’re behind our military 100 percent,” she added. “We wanted to do something to show that we appreciate them.”

And for the caffeine-deprived, Fruita Gelato Company blends coffee and tea with gelato in what they call Chillatos.

Legg said the Dusty Trail (tiramisu gelato blended with coffee, poured over ice, topped with English toffee and whipped cream) and Vanilla Brownie (Tahitian vanilla gelato blended with coffee, poured over ice, topped with brownie and whipped cream) are “really popular.”

She added, “What’s wrong with a Vanilla Brownie in the middle of the day?”

Of course, the answer is: absolutely nothing.

“That can pick you up anytime in the afternoon if you’re in a slump,” she said.

Basically, Legg believes any time of day and any occasion are better with gelato, especially at her store in Fruita.

“Pairing authentic gelato with local touches, and that’s approachable by everybody in town, is what our primary priority is,” she said. “No matter who you are – old, young, farmer, businessman – this could be a place for you, and come make some new memories.

“And we have seating by design, so you can have a seat, relax, meet your neighbors, hang out and enjoy. So just having that, that experience in that place, here in Fruita.”

More About Fruita Gelato Company

Fruita Gelato Company is at 156 S. Park Square in downtown Fruita.

Its website is still being designed, but you can follow Fruita Gelato Company on social media, particularly Facebook and Instagram.

“Facebook has been huge for me, absolutely huge,” owner Bridget Legg said.

Hubby lends a hand, support

Originally from Aurora, Legg made her way across the mountains to Fruita because of her husband and former Auroran, Eric Legg, who has lived in Fruita for about 18 years.

“He has been my north star with this entire process,” Bridget said. “He’s helped paint and do construction, and more than anything, just the support and cheering me on. He’s my biggest fan. I couldn’t do it without him.”

Bridget added her two stepdaughters helped do all of the painting and decor inside Fruita Gelato Company, and her father and father-in-law helped build the bars and the tabletops in the store.

“I mean, it was a full family affair that everybody pitched in,” she said, “and it was awesome.”

Counting on foot traffic

Legg already sees walkers stopping at Fruita Gelato Company after they spot it, and she looks forward to more of that when the weather gets warmer.

“There’s just so much walking traffic right here,” she said. “That’s why we love Fruita; everybody walks. Circle Park’s always busy, and a lot of people prefer local businesses, too.”

And for people dining in downtown Fruita, she recommends they make the short walk to Fruita Gelato Company for dessert after they finish their meal.

Career deviation, but not too much

Legg is new to owning and operating a gelato business, but she’s no stranger to food service.

“I’ve been in the restaurant business since I was 15, which was a while ago,” said Legg, who is 47 years old, but added, “You can put 39.”

She said she was the director of food and beverage at a hotel in Palisade for the past six years. Prior to that, she was a director of food and beverage in Black Hawk.

“So I have been in the practice of multiple different types of restaurants, events, weddings, catering,” she said. “I really wanted to just do something special for Fruita, that the locals could enjoy, and keep it as authentic as possible.”

Did she really say she enjoys cleaning?

Saying she looks forward every day to cleaning the glass on the front of the display case that contains the gelato sounds a little odd until Legg explains why.

“My favorite part of the day is cleaning off the glass from all the little, teeny-tiny fingerprints and nose prints from the kids,” she said. “Because I have a really good front-row seat right there when they come in, and (the gelato selection) is a lot for them to take in until they come in a few times. … That’s definitely the funniest part of my day, and I love it. I love hearing all the little things they tell me about their day, or getting to know other parents and fellow business owners.

“It’s been a really great experience just to get deeper into the community … focusing on just such a special town. It’s great here.”